Domestic help among two held for killing 80-yr-old woman in Jungpura

The murder had come to light after one of Shah’s neighbours,Rita Asirvatham,informed police that a theft had taken place in Shah’s house. “Rita told police that a Nepalese domestic help,Jagat,was staying with Shah. The main door was lying open and the house was completely ransacked,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Ajay Chaudhary.

He said Shah was lying dead in the bathroom attached to her bedroom. Her hands were tied behind her back and a cloth was tied over her face. A blood-stained towel and pillow were also lying near her body. As Jagat had gone missing from the house,he became the prime suspect.

During investigation,police reportedly contacted 50 people from Jagat’s village in Nepal,who worked as watchmen in different parts of Delhi. This led the police to a man named Prakash,who had brought Jagat to Shah’s family to work as domestic help. Prakash provided the police with Jagat’s address in Nepal.

“The family had not got the domestic help verified. Domestic help registration is very important and we have repeatedly said this. Such verification has two distinct advantages. First,when details are listed with police,it acts as a deterrent to crime. Second,it saves police the effort of tracing the person in case of any untoward incident,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (South) Amulya Patnaik.

Suspecting that the accused might escape to Nepal,police had deployed three teams at the Indo-Nepal border. “Finally,we received information that the accused were hiding at Kotkhai in Shimla,Himachal Pradesh. Jagat was arrested at the police picket while trying to cross the border and Karan was arrested from his house in Kothkai.

During questioning,Jagat told police he started working at Shah’s house in August this year. A day before Diwali,he took a day off and met his aides,Chandra and Lalit,and planned Shah’s murder with them.

“On October 31,Seema,the other domestic help in the house,left work early. Then,Lalit and Chandra came to Shah’s house. While Jagat held the dog back,they overpowered Shah,tied her hands behind her,covered her mouth and face with a piece of cloth and locked her in the bathroom. Then they fled with Rs 70,000 in cash and other valuables,” Chaudhary said.

Later,Jagat sold Shah’s mobile phone to Karan,making the police arrest him as well.